Heaviest animal ever may be this ancient whale found in Peruvian desert
NEW YORK — There could be a new contender for heaviest animal to ever live. While today’s blue whale has long held the title, scientists have dug up fossils from an ancient giant that could tip the scales. Researchers described the new species — named Perucetus colossus, or “the colossal...
Mega Millions jackpot has soared to $1.25 billion. Here’s how hard it is to win
NEW YORK — There’s no shaking it. Your chances of winning the lottery are extremely slim. After no big winner Tuesday night, the Mega Millions jackpot climbed to an estimated $1.25 billion. If someone wins it all on Friday, when the next Mega Millions drawing takes place, the prize would...
When is the 1st day of school 2023? Here’s the schedule for Western Pa.
The beginning of the school year around Western Pennsylvania starts in less than three weeks. Among public school districts in six counties, the earliest start date is Aug. 21, with three districts — Allegheny Valley, McKeesport Area and North Allegheny — opening their doors on the Monday that week. Only...
More teachers are quitting their jobs. Educators of color often are more likely to leave
HARRISBURG — Rhonda Hicks could have kept working into her 60s. She loved teaching and loved her students in Philadelphia’s public schools. As a Black woman, she took pride in being a role model for many children of color. But other aspects of the job deteriorated, such as growing demands...
Mega Millions winner could net $1.25 billion as top lottery prize is still up for grabs
The Mega Millions jackpot increased to an estimated $1.25 billion after no one beat the odds Tuesday night and won the massive lottery prize. The winning numbers drawn were: 8, 24, 30, 45, 61 and the yellow ball: 12. No one has won the Mega Millions jackpot since April 18,...
Prosecutors in Gilgo Beach killings are giving Rex Heuermann’s defense a vast trove of evidenceVideo
RIVERHEAD, N.Y. — Weeks after charging a Long Island architect in a string of killings known as the Gilgo Beach murders, prosecutors said Tuesday that they’ve begun providing his lawyer with reams of evidence including autopsy findings, DNA reports and crime scene photos. Suffolk County prosecutors said at a brief...
The election-meddling indictment against Trump is sprawling. Here’s a breakdown of the case
Donald Trump for years has promoted baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him. In truth, Trump was the one who tried to steal the election, federal prosecutors said Tuesday in a sprawling indictment that paints the former president as desperate to cling to power he knew had...
From election night to indictment: A timeline of the case against Trump
WASHINGTON — Donald Trump was criminally charged for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, more than two years after a violent mob of his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to disrupt a certification of the results. The attack was the culmination of an unsuccessful push...
Trump indicted for efforts to overturn 2020 election, block transfer of powerVideo
Donald Trump was indicted on felony charges Tuesday for working to overturn the results of the 2020 election in the run-up to the violent riot by his supporters at the U.S. Capitol, with the Justice Department moving to hold him accountable for an unprecedented effort to block the peaceful transfer...
Bond denied for South Carolina woman accused of killing newlywed bride in drunken crash
A judge has denied bond for a woman accused of killing a newlywed bride when she drunkenly slammed her Toyota Camry into a golf cart along a South Carolina beach road. Jamie Lee Komoroski, 25, will remain behind bars awaiting trial after officials say she drove over twice the speed...
Big donors to DeSantis’ governor campaigns aren’t funding his presidential bid
Most of Ron DeSantis’ former top donors aren’t ready to back his presidential bid. Roughly three-fourths of the Florida governor’s largest gubernatorial contributors haven’t donated this year to a super PAC supporting his White House candidacy, according to a preliminary analysis of campaign finance documents filed Monday with the Federal...
Michigan prosecutors charge Trump allies in felonies involving voting machines, illegal ‘testing’
LANSING, Mich. — A former Republican attorney general candidate and another supporter of former President Donald Trump have been criminally charged in Michigan in connection with accessing and tampering with voting machines after the 2020 election, according to court records. Matthew DePerno, a Republican lawyer who was endorsed by Trump...
Murrysville Rep. Cooper proposes pay suspension for Pa. legislators if they don’t pass budget on time
The longer the Legislature goes without passage of a budget for Pennsylvania, the more likely it is that services which depend on its annual funding appropriations will be disrupted. State Rep. Jill Cooper, R-Murrysville, is of the mind that legislators should be feeling that same disruption. “By law, we’re supposed...
PennDOT seeks applicants for Young Ambassadors program
The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is seeking applicants entering grades 10 to 12 for its Youth Ambassadors of Pennsylvania program. Youth ambassadors help instill civic responsibility and pride by helping to keep Pennsylvania clean and beautiful. It also provides opportunities to train and network with industry leaders, state agencies, local...
$1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot drawing offers shot at 6th largest prize ever
An estimated $1.1 billion Mega Millions jackpot will be up for grabs Tuesday night, giving lottery players a chance to snap an unlucky streak that has stretched on for months. No one has won the Mega Millions jackpot since April 18, allowing it to roll over again and again until...
DeSantis-controlled Disney World district abolishes diversity, equity initiatives
ORLANDO, Fla. — Diversity, equity and inclusion programs were abolished Tuesday from Walt Disney World’s governing district, now controlled by appointees of Gov. Ron DeSantis, in an echo of the Florida governor’s agenda which has championed curtailing such programs in higher education and elsewhere. The Central Florida Tourism Oversight District...
Vintage computer that helped launch the Apple empire is being sold at auction
BOSTON — A vintage Apple computer signed by company co-founder Steve Wozniak is being sold at auction. The Apple-1 set in motion the company that in June became the first publicly traded business to close a trading day with a $3 trillion market value, according to RR Auction in Boston....
Pulled out to sea by current, swimmer is rescued after treading water for 5 hours
NEW YORK — A swimmer who got swept out to sea by a powerful current was rescued off New York’s Long Island after treading water for five hours, police said. Dan Ho, 63, went swimming at a beach in Babylon at around 5 a.m. Monday and was pulled out by...
At least 20 dead in flooding around Chinese capital, 27 missing as thousands evacuated
BEIJING — Torrential rain in areas around China’s capital, Beijing, killed at least 20 people and left 27 missing, the government reported Tuesday, as flooding destroyed roads, uprooted trees and knocked out power. Thousands of people were evacuated to shelters in schools and other public buildings in suburban Beijing and...
GM recalls nearly 900 vehicles with Takata air bag inflators, blames manufacturing problem
DETROIT — General Motors is recalling nearly 900 vehicles in the U.S. and Canada with Takata air bag inflators that could explode and hurl shrapnel in a crash. The recall covers certain Chevrolet Camaro, Sonic and Volt vehicles as well as the Buick Verano, all from the 2013 model year....
The 1st generation of solar panels will wear out — a recycling industry is taking shape
Sunlight beats down on a graveyard for dead solar panels in Yuma, Ariz., hundreds stacked in neat piles, waiting for their next life. The great majority of worn and damaged panels are still dumped in landfills. But with more and more piling up, many people know that needs to change....
Cedar Point to launch Top Thrill 2 coaster in 2024Video
Cedar Point has announced the replacement for its record-setting Top Thrill Dragster coaster: Top Thrill 2. And it’s set to debut in 2024. The ride will maintain the Sandusky, Ohio, park’s iconic 420-foot-tall arching tower and add a second 420-foot-tall tower on the opposite end. The coaster will have three...
U.S. opens safety probe into complaints from Tesla drivers that they can lose steering control
DETROIT — U.S. auto safety regulators have opened yet another investigation into safety problems with Tesla vehicles. This time the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is looking into a dozen complaints about loss of steering control or loss of power steering in the 2023 Models 3 and Y electric vehicles....
Russia accuses Ukraine of a drone attack on Moscow that hit the same building just days ago
TALLINN, Estonia — Russian authorities accused Kyiv early Tuesday of yet another attack on Moscow and its surroundings with drones, one of which hit the same building in the capital that was damaged by a drone just days ago in a similar attack. Russian officials have claimed that the intensified...
16 workers killed in the collapse of a crane being used to build a bridge in India
NEW DELHI — A huge crane collapsed at a highway construction site in western India, killing at least 16 workers, the country’s National Disaster Response Force said Tuesday Television footage showed the collapsed crane on the ground as rescue workers looked for survivors near the site in Thane, a city...
